Air Shepherd at Berlin Air Show

Lindbergh Foundation’s Air Shepherd Program to Have Presence at ILA Berlin Air Show in Berlin Germany

Program director of Lindbergh Foundation — Tina Pirazzi — to participate in panel on Start-up Day

ILA Berlin Air Show, Berlin, Germany, Hall #3 Booth #103—June 1-4, 2016—The Lindbergh Foundation’s Air Shepherd program, developed to protect elephants and rhinos from poaching using drones, today announced that Air Shepherd will be in attendance at the ILA Berlin Air Show. Tina Pirazzi, program director for the Lindbergh Foundation will be in attendance along with a model of an Air Shepherd drone on display.

Pirazzi and the drone will be at the German Federal Association for Unmanned Systems (BUVUS) booth located in hall #3, booth #103 in the Berlin ExpoCenter Airport. During the event’s Start-up Day on Thursday, June 2, Pirazzi will be part of a panel beginning at 10am with the theme, “Age of Drones – a rise of a disruptive technology market.”

The ILA Berlin Air Show offers a close-up look at the aerospace industry with aircraft of all types and sizes on display. During the four-day event, approximately 200 airplanes, helicopters and UAS will be featured on the ground and in the air. The Berlin ExpoCenter Airport, which covers 250,000 square meters and has an outdoor area measuring 100,000 square meters, will showcase civilian and military aircraft. Attendees will garner insight into what goes on in various types of aircraft, meet astronauts and pilots from multiple countries and will have the opportunity to operate the joystick of a flight simulator.

“Ever since our official launch in South Africa in March, we have received such an outpouring of support from Germany,” said Tina Pirazzi, program director for the Lindbergh Foundation. “So when we were offered the chance to participate in the ILA Berlin Air Show, we just had to make it happen.”

Air Shepherd drone teams go through months of extensive training and are deployed into areas known for illegal poaching activities. Using intelligence from many sources, infrared-capable drones fly silently at night when poachers operate. Each team, consisting of a sensor operator and pilot, controls electric drones flying at distances of up to 50 km for missions that last up to five hours.

Once poachers are spotted on monitors in the command vehicles, rangers are sent to the area to intercept them. The Air Shepherd drones offer more protection to rangers who, while patrolling at night, are exposed to a high level of danger from armed poachers and wild animals.

After extensive testing, it has been shown that when Air Shepherd drones are flying, poaching stops. Air Shepherd teams are a highly effective tool that works in conjunction with other methods and capabilities to combat poaching. Many more teams are needed to address the wide-spread problem and Air Shepherd is therefore actively discussing expansion with officials in five other countries.

About Lindbergh Foundation’s Air Shepherd Program

Developed by the Charles A. and Anne Morrow Lindbergh Foundation, the Air Shepherd program is using drones and data analytic capabilities to protect rhinos and elephants in Africa. Using sophisticated three-aircraft operating teams that work with rangers on the ground, drones are flown over high probable poaching areas, allowing rangers to intercept suspects before a poaching incident can take place. A 501 (c)(3) non-profit corporation, the Lindbergh Foundation has dedicated more than 35 years to sustaining the Lindbergh legacy—using technology to help balance the effects of human development on the environment. For more information and to donate, please visit lindberghfoundation.org or AirShepherd.org.